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Hosting provider THE·Hosting has officially announced the permanent closure of its operations. In a notice sent to customers, the company stated that it is being forced to discontinue all services and wind down its platform due to “unforeseen and unavoidable force majeure circumstances.”
The announcement brings an end to a story that, over the course of just a few days, evolved from what appeared to be a routine infrastructure outage into an international investigation involving raids, arrests, and hundreds of seized servers. For some customers, the ending may be disappointing, but it is unlikely to be surprising.
From Lost VPS Instances to a Full Shutdown
According to the company's notice, new registrations, service orders, and renewals have already been disabled. Once the shutdown process is completed, all customer accounts and stored data will be permanently removed from company systems.
THE·Hosting has advised users to retrieve any remaining data and backups as soon as possible, assuming access is still available. Support channels, billing systems, and related services are also expected to cease operation in the coming days.
In its statement, the company thanked customers for their trust and cooperation but provided no detailed explanation beyond citing force majeure circumstances.
The Story Began With Widespread Service Outages
Problems first became visible on May 18–19, when customers of THE·Hosting and affiliated provider UFO·Hosting began reporting inaccessible VPS instances, missing data, and unsuccessful recovery attempts.
Initially, the situation was described as a technical failure. Customers were offered replacement VPS instances in alternative locations and compensation in the form of additional service periods. However, complaints continued to accumulate. Users reported lost servers, inaccessible backups, and lengthy delays in the restoration process.
By May 21, websites and customer portals had largely returned online, but many virtual machines remained unavailable. Some VPS instances continued to appear as active in management panels despite being completely unreachable. It was an unusual form of digital existence: officially alive, practically absent.
Dutch Investigation and More Than 800 Seized Servers
Several days later, an explanation emerged. On May 25, the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service announced a large-scale operation targeting companies involved in hosting and network infrastructure. Investigators alleged that the organizations under scrutiny may have participated in circumventing sanctions imposed by the European Union and supporting activities that authorities believe were linked to cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns.
During searches of offices and data centers, investigators seized documents, equipment, and more than 800 servers. Authorities also reported the arrest of two suspects from Amsterdam and The Hague.
After developments of that magnitude, references to "technical maintenance" inevitably began to sound somewhat different.
The Trail Leads Back to PQ·Hosting Sanctions
Many observers trace the origins of the current crisis to May 2025, when the EU imposed sanctions on Stark Industries Solutions Limited, a company that investigators and journalists linked to hosting provider PQ·Hosting.
According to reporting from cybersecurity researchers and investigative journalists, the business structure was reorganized following the sanctions. THE·Hosting and UFO·Hosting emerged as successor brands, while parts of the infrastructure were reportedly transferred to the Dutch company WorkTitans B.V..
Investigators now view that legal entity as a possible vehicle used to continue activities associated with organizations affected by sanctions restrictions.
The story has now reached perhaps its most definitive conclusion. Just a few days ago, customers were trying to determine the fate of their VPS instances. Today, the question is considerably harder: how to save their data and how find a new hosting provider after the old one has disappeared entirely.